Nonstop flight route between St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom and Asahikawa Airport (AKJ), Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,558 miles (or 8,944 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between MoD St Athan and Asahikawa Airport, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.

Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between MoD St Athan and Asahikawa Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about MoD St Athan (DGX):

• The only squadrons to operate out of St Athan on a regular basis are the University of Wales Air Squadron, flying Grob Tutors and No 634 Volunteer Gliding Squadron using Vigilant T.1s.
• The last aircraft to be serviced at St Athan, a Vickers VC10, departed the site on 23 February 2012.
• Because of MoD St Athan's relatively low elevation of 163 feet, planes can take off or land at MoD St Athan at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• The furthest airport from MoD St Athan (DGX) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,960 miles (19,248 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• The MOD continued to negotiate the project with the Metrix Consortium, but the price rose several times, reaching £14 billion in mid-2009.
• The new academy was claimed to create up to 5000 jobs at St Athan with a £14 billion investment over 25 years with an estimated £57.4 million spent into the local economy.
• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
• During the 1960s, a driving school was established.
• St Athan also became the major RAF maintenance base for Vulcan, Victor, Buccaner, Phantom, Harrier, Tornado, Jaguar, Hawk and VC10 aircraft, originally under direct RAF control, but latterly under the auspices of the Defence Aviation Repair Agency.
• The training to be carried out at St Athan was to be specialist phase 2 and phase 3 engineering courses of the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force.
• The closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of DGX.

Facts about Asahikawa Airport (AKJ):

• The furthest airport from Asahikawa Airport (AKJ) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 11,350 miles (18,267 kilometers) away in Stanley, Falkland Islands, United Kingdom.
• Because of Asahikawa Airport's relatively low elevation of 690 feet, planes can take off or land at Asahikawa Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• In addition to being known as "Asahikawa Airport", other names for AKJ include "旭川空港" and "Asahikawa Kūkō".
• The closest airport to Asahikawa Airport (AKJ) is Okhotsk Monbetsu Airport (MBE), which is located 65 miles (104 kilometers) NE of AKJ.
• Asahikawa Airport (AKJ) currently has only 1 runway.